To Heal a Broken Heart
by zodiac38352
Summary: What if Painwheel wasn't the first successful subject of Lab Zero? And what if he could help the tortured girl find her sanity again, and maybe something else in the process? A mixture of Painwheel's, Filia's, and my OC's story. Pairing is Painwheel/Carol, OC. First Fan-Fic. Any and all reviews are appreciated. Rated T for the fair bit of fighting and the occasional swear word.
1. Chapter 1: The Inevitable Return

To Heal A Broken Heart

Chapter 1: The Inevitable Return

_Soul contamination stabilized..._

_Beginning inplantment of control mechanism..._

_The Skullgirl's blood has now been fully intergrated into him. No signs of rejection, Doctor_

_Good, establishing control now._

_OBEY LAB ZERO. FIND THE SKULLGIRL AND DESTROY HER, AS WELL AS RETRIEVE THE SKULL HEART. ENSURE THAT IS IS BROUGHT TO US SAFELY, MY NEWEST MINION, MY..._

"Ragnorok" he heard a very deep voice say to him, stirring him from his slumber.

"Huh?" The young man said, still trying to stir himself from his nightmares.

"Ragnorok, you have to wake up now. We need to eat something," continued the voice in his head, thinly veiling annoyance about about his hunger.

"Nice to see that you are as lively as usual, Fenrir". Now that he was fully conscious, Ragnorok began trying to recall the previous night's events, as his mind was still a tad fuzzy.

"Now I remember, we have just returned to New Meridian in order to finally take care of that mongrel, Brain Drain. After that, we'll see about this Skull Heart buisness he was always on about. That about sum it, Fen?"

Yes, though would you kindly stop referring to me by that childish nickname. I'm a parasite designed to kill, not your friend" Fenrir replied, using his typical dark tone.

"Oh, your just being a pessimist because we haven't had anything to eat yet. Tell you what, why don't we swing by that cafe we passed by on the way to the motel?"

"Wait, you mean that one where we saw a guy get knocked out of a window by that big-boobed chick with the freaky hair?"  
"Yep"

"Two Words: Mad Bitchin. By the way, what was it that was causing you problems. I could feel your emotions all over the place" stated Fenrir, now showing the slightest bit of genuine concern for his partner.

"It was just a nightmare. Sorry if it was causing you problems."

"Was is the one with the two guys and speedos that tried to-"

"NO! Though thanks a lot for that. I have been repressing that one for years, now its gonna be stuck in my head again for months" spoke Ragnorok, now that his brain finally remembered that terrible dream, which was a byproduct from something soterrifying, that no man should ever have to see. It was a movie called _Magic Mike._

"Well what else could it be? That is the only thing I can think of that could scar you that horribly, except maybe..."

"My rebirth as Ragnorok. Thats what I remembered, including the memories of that monster, Brain Drain"

"Ouch, must be because we are nearing our goal. On the plus side, you can use those memories when you encounter him so that we can thuroughly smash that A-hole's brain dome. By the way, what do you think he does when he scratches that? Is there some sort of manical villain repair store?" inquired Fen, showing off his other key personality trait, being a smug smart-alek.

"Must be. Or it could just be he's a wuss that never leaves the lab. Well, now that we have most of the day figured out, Shall we go eat? After that, its going to be open season on the Skullgirl and Lab Zero members alike, and heaven help anyone that gets in our way."

"Sounds like a plan" stated Fenrir, now that the pair were finally ready to begin the day.

"So then," they both spoke, as Fenrir and Ragnorok combined their minds, with one of his eyes going from his typical blue to black and red, "Lets have fun," his voice taking a noticeable dip, now falling somewhere between the pair.

**Well, that is my first chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it, and yes, I know this had little to no mention of the other characters, but I had to develop my OC first. Still, hope that this story will only improve**


	2. Chapter 2: The Pieces Begin to Move

**Before I start I would like to note a few things I forgot to ever mention before. For one, I in no way, shape, or form own Skullgirls. All I own is a copy of the , with that disclaimer out of the way, I would like to give now notice to my recently obtained cover pic, which can be found here: **** art/Pain-348046774**** (PS, look at this guy's art in general, as it is really good). Finally, before anyone comments about it, yes, the beginning few sentences are for the most part identical to the start of Painwheel's story, and it was intentional as a way to make the characters similar, as well as the fact they all would probably go through a similar process. Well, hope you enjoy.**  
Chapter 2: The Pieces Begin to Move

PAINWHEEL, IT IS TIME TO AWAKEN. YOU HAVE YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT.

_Five more minutes _could be heard somewhere in the dark recessess of the damaged girl's mind. Though of course, she knows the thought was futile, as her body was always forced to obey whatever demands Brain Drain gave her, regardless of her own personal opinion. So, with little effort, she arose from her cot and removed the IV from her arm, the purpose of which was to ensure she had just enough nutritional value to complete the day. Why go through all the effort of cooking, Brain Drain would say, when we can just feed them through a tube while they sleep. Then again, kindness has never been one of his virtues.

After a bit of walking, she finally arrived to Brain Drain's main office, which was all decorated in a style to emphasize his twisted nature, as well as minorly amplify his already strong mental powers. Naturally, he could have just relay her instructions from her cot, like he did her wake up call, but he posessed a flair for the dramatic, alongside his general sadism and cloning habits.

Once she had arrived there, Brain Drain arose from his desk, wearing his typical uniform that instilled both a sense of authority and fear. This was further emphasized by his actual body, which by this point was more mechanical than organic. The only thing that showed he was at one point at least physically human was his brain, easily identified through a clear dome. When he was right in front of her, he began speaking, only ever talking to people via their minds.

NOW THEN, Brain Drain began, YOUR ASSAIGNMENT IS TO TAKE CARE OF AN OLD ASSOCIATE THAT HAS LONG SINCE GROWN SOFT. YOU ARE ALSO TO TAKE CARE OF ANY AND ALL OF HIS SUBJECTS, WHO ARE JUST AS POINTLESSLY SENTIMENTAL AS HE IS. HIS NAME IS DR. AVIAN, WHO IS THE HEAD OF LAB 8. VALENTINE WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY THERE IN ORDER TO ASSIST IN ANY CLEAN UP. ENSURE THAT SHE HAS NO REASON TO BE THERE, OR THERE WILL BE PUNISHMENT.

"Yes, Master," spoke Painwheel in her usual disturbed voice. While on the outside she was fairly complacent, internally she was adamantly against the whole thing. _No, please don't make me kill more do I have to keep staining my body with the blood of others. I beg of you, you have to stop._ By this point, Carol was appealing to her body to resist Brain Drain's control. This was futile, of course, as she was a sixteen-year old girl trying to repel the mental attacks of an old psychic whose specialty was mind control. She may as well have been trying to move a mountain. So she inevitably could do nothing but mourn her next victims. With that, she left, ready to make the trek to Lab 8, indiscreetly of course.

**Meanwhile, somewhere near Little Innsmouth...**

"Hopefully, we will be able to figure out more about the current events from Dr. Avian," spoke Ragnorok, who, after a fairly long morning, has obtained little to no meaningful knowledge about the Skullgirl or Lab Zero, as he had long since forgotten the Lab's actual location. The only bits of worthwhile news they had picked up on was that the local gang, The Medici, were planning something big, and several odd people showing up, however the news there was so inconsistent that any information there was useless as well. With that in mind, Ragnorok opted to go to the one of the few people in New Meridian he trusted, as the kind old scientest had found, protected, and taught him for the first few years after his escape from Lab Zero.

"Are you sure you remember the way to the Lab? Its been ages since we've been there. Granted, I'm not complaining about our current locale. Especially that resteraunt we went to. That fish-girl who was our waitress was hot! Wouldn't mind having a taste of that girl..."

"Okay A. think with your head between your shoulders, not your legs; B. That girl was easily twelve or thirteen, so that would be pedophilia, and C. Even ignoring that, we would then have suffered the same fate of those two guys that tried the same thing. Granted, I am curious how that girl who helped her was able to live and fight without her head, but that's a problem for another day."

"You know, all that aside, I'd still at least try. Also, I originate from your personality. So I guess that means you had some sort of interest in her too" said Fenrir, ever the one to get the last word, as well as saying things that were equal parts crude and true.

"Low blow. And maybe in a few years when she has developed. But who on earth would do something like that to a girl that young. Unlike you, I'm not depraved. Well, for the most part. Anyway, I know where we're going. Avian made sure I could always remember where to go to find his lab. Besides, he loves places like this, plenty of sunshine to allow the younger children to have some sense of happiness. He's always made sure that those under his care were always able to find some sense of hope, no matter their past."

"Yeah, he was always nice, even to me back when I was a bit of an ass."

And you're any different from then and now in what way?"

"Harde har har. Wait a minute", said Fenrir, getting a very odd feeling that prompted him to use his enhanced senses, another byproduct of the Lab's numerous experiments, "you feel that just now?"

"Yeah, it felt like the presence of the Skullgirl, but far weaker, and more internal than external. Almost like how we are. Wonder what it could be," contemplated Ragnorok

"Well its either a weak Skullgirl, someone who has been near her recently, or mayve there is yet another experiment from Lab Zero out and about. Kinda surprised, though, seeing as we didn't turn out so well. You know, for a genius, Brain Drain can be a real idiot sometimes."

"One way or the other," continued Fenrir, "we should go check it out. At worst, its just a false alarm, and we are no different from where we started. At best, though, it could be someone that we could use in order to find Lab Zero. One way or the other, we have nothing to lose."

"Sounds like a plan. Well then, it looks like we finally have a new lead. Let's begin the hunt". And with that, Ragnorok began to run, now with an actual sense of direction, and what could be the start on his path to justice.


	3. Chapter 3: The Paths Begin to Cross

**Lot less to talk about this time around. Bar the usual disclaimer, I would like to thank jazzcoatl for faving and reviewing my current chapters. Did not expect to get a fave so quickly. As for his most recent comment, I originally intended to give a more in-depth look for Ragnorok (including his past) in the previous chapter, but I realized that would be two chapters without introducing Painwheel, who in integral to the plot. I plan on giving a look at his appearance in this chapter and more about his past in the next chapter or two. With that in mind, I hope all readers enjoy.**

Chapter 3: The Paths Begin to Cross

Now that the two Lab Zero subjects are moving in the same direction, it was inevitable that they would encounter each other. As fate would have it, not only would Ragnorok arrive first to prepare to get the jump on her, but there would be a third, and fairly unexpected, person to appear as well. And it was this one chance encounter that lead to so many events to unfold.

"Are you sure something involving the Skullgirl is this way, Samson? This place doesn't really seem to fit with the other rumors we have heard, or anything we have heard about anything odd recently," Questioned the young lady known as Filia, desperate to find to the Skullheart to reclaim her lost memories, which mysteriously vanished one day.

"Come on, Filia, have a little faith in me," responded Samson, her parasite that took the form of her hair. While Filia has no memories of how he got there, they are now, both literally and metaphorically, stuck together, as Samson can only leave a host when they are close to death. Moreover, he had his own reasons for obtaining the Skullheart, and he hoped that he could somehow befriend her enough to convince her to allow him his wish of having his own body, so that he could be free to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. "I have it on good information from one of my informants that there has been strange activity originating from this way. Its one of those Anti-Skullgirl Labs, apparently. Push comes to shove, they could at least help in giving us a lead."

"So in other words, you don't really know where we're going."

"Oh, shut up. Besides, the exercise will be good for you. You need it especially."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That all those sweets and milkshakes you have aren't doing you any favors, thunder-thighs.

"That's it, you are intolerable". And with that, the two began to quarrel with each other, Folia yanking at Samson while he was whacking her upside the head with his free tendrils.

**Meanwhile, atop a nearby building...**

How bizarre it is that while two opposites are fighting each other above, high above them that there is another pair of opposites getting along perfectly. As for their purpose, the plan was to gain higher ground in order to get a visual on the potential lead. Thus far, however, they had yet to locate it, though they could still get a general sense of the fact that whatever it is was heading this way. In the meantime, they enjoyed themselves watching the rather fascinating discussion below.

"You know, at some point before all this crap happened to me, seeing a girl fighting her sentient hair would a solid ten on my "things I never thought could be real" scale."

"And now?"

"Eh, somewhere closer to a four. Mostly it comes from the fact I am still not used to these living parasites. Which is odd, actually, as the whole existence of a parasite makes more sense if it were alive."

"Well, there weren't really that many at Lab Zero, remember? That would just have been another thing for Brain Drain to have to manipulate in the creation of his soldiers. Its far easier controlling one person with a bunch of machines inside them than a person alongside a living weapon," stated Fenrir, who always understands the combat side of things, including tactics and how to manage soldiers.

"Fair enough. I will give that man credit: for as much as I despise him, he's certainly smart enough to plan ahead for almost all potential problems."

"The obvious exception being us?"

"Of course. By the, you got a lock on the target? I still can't seem to get a good visual on it." as now that the pair below were just fighting, the young hunters opted to return to their primary goal.

"Yeah, I got her, it looks like she's heading this way. If we leave it as it, then we should she an encounter between it and the girl down below. Should we intercept it down there?" questioned Fenrir, unsure of how to handle an opponent he's never encountered before, and yet excited at the prospect of a potential target.

"Let's stay up here. We can just as easily wait and see what we're dealing with. Also, that girl seems to be fairly strong, so if it is a Skullgirl or Lab Zero member, we could wait for her to weaken whatever's coming. If things do get dicey, we'll just have to be sure to help her."

"Sounds good to me. So then," spoke Fenrir, "shall we prepare for battle ourselves?" his voice, thinly concealing his general excitement at the idea of an actual fight.

"It would be best, especially because we have no idea how long the girl below will last". And with that, Ragnorok stripped out of his trademark jacket and sweatpants, showing that he wore shorts and a plain shirt beneath his normal clothes. Without the clothes excess bulk, he was actually noticeably tall and lean, showing very little fat on his body, and his pale skin and jet black hair gave him the appearance of a young boxer. but that wasn't the only noticeable feature on him. All over his body, there were scars from the varying procedures that Lab Zero attempted on him. Also noticeable were his very veins, which stood out remarkably on his skin. Finally, looking at his arms, you could see plainly the main reason as to why he wore a jacket, for in each arm were five long, thin nails, making for ten in total. Of these, he proceeded to remove four.

"I think about 40% should be good for a start, don't you?"

"Yeah," and the pair could only grin as their body began to alter, now growing more muscular, as well as the nails on his hands and feet begin to extend to more resemble the claws of an animal. Along with this, his teeth gradually, and painfully, changed so that they were more like fangs than normal teeth. Finally, one odd change was that his hair began to grow, so that it now reached to about his shoulders.

"Oh, I so never get tired of that" said Fenrir

"Me too, its such a thrill to finally let loose. Well, that just leaves one final touch." and with that, the two halves began the process of combining back to their original personality again, complete with the trademark contrasting eyes.

"Well, now that I'm all ready to go, all that's left to do is wait" spoke the new voice, glad to finally be out to actually do something.

**And with that, I have finally concluded chapter**. **Hope that this helped to explain a few things I forgot. Also, finally introduced Filia, so with that, all the major characters have been introduced, Now, I will finally be able to focus on the main storyline, rather than character introductions/explanations.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Fateful Encounter

**Well, here we go now, chapter 4. Before I start, apologies for the gap in my update time frame. I had a busy weekend, so I could not work as much as I usually would. Hopefully, I will be able to consistently upload once every few days**

Chapter 4: The Fateful Encounter

_Why can't you hear my voice for just one second? _pleaded Carol to her body, hoping that the distance from Lab Zero would allow her voice to finally reach her conscious mind. Sadly, even outside his mental range, Brain Drain's thorough transformation of Carol's mind into Painwheel left the two parts almost entirely disconnected from each other. Try as she might, all Painwheel heard would be like to much static and white noise. It would take a miracle for the young girl to get a word out. How convenient then that a miracle would come in the form of an old friend.

_Wait a second. That girl looks familiar. No, wait, it couldn't be... _and with some effort, Carol was able to remember events from her previous life, as she was desperately searching for someone's face. After some searching, she found it, and with that, she confirmed the identity of the girl in front of her.

_I'm sure of it. The hair may be a different color, but that has to be Filia. Not sure why her hair is like that, but I can just ask her. Wait... _She had just noticed her own body was starting to approach Filia, as well as preparing itself for a battle to silence a potential threat. _No, I refuse. I don't care how many others would die in the process, I refuse to hurt my one true friend. _And with a burst of willpower not seen before, Carol finally said the first words that were actually hers out of Painwheel's mouth.

"Filia! Filia, it-it's me Carol."

"What?" And it was then that Filia saw that the source of the voice was rapidly approaching her. It was what looked like a young girl her age, but horrendously mutilated. Not only that, but it did not look like she had eaten a decently meal in a long time. Despite that, there were clear muscles on her body. The things that were most striking, however, were her mask the varying weapons protruding from her body. She would have just attacked someone like this normally, but what the assailant said had sounded somewhat familiar to her.

"Carol? That name seems familiar, somehow. Oh" She groaned, as a sudden head ache had arisen, and with it, she began feel faint images of her past begin to appear in her head. A school, a bunch of bullies, and the face of a young girl she had many times called best friend. But before she could piece these images together, Painwheel had begun her attack. Just in the nick of time, however, Samson formed a shield, blocking the pinwheel that would have sliced Filia in two otherwise.

"Kid, you've gotta focus. This girl seems to actually have some fight in her."

"But Samson, I'm confused. This girl seems to know me. I am getting flashes of images in my head, but I can't place them. Do you have any clue who this is?"

"I, er- I don't know. Beyond that, this girl is clearly insane, so why worry about whatever she is saying. For now, we need to focus on fighting."

"Ok, but we should be sure to look into this at some point." and with that the battle began.

Anyone who saw the fight would have said it was amazing. Now that Filia had finally found her bearings, she attacked by having Samson encompass her, and then produce spikes, forming a massive spike ball, which collided against Painwheel, moderatly damaging her. She followed this up by knocking Painwheel into the air with Samson's help, then proceeded to follow her upwards to get a few hits on her.

It was in the air, however, that Painwheel was able to counter attack, using the Buer Drive to grab Filia with her Buer Drive, followed by a throw straight into the ground. With this, both fighters were now on roughly even ground, with Painwheel using her Buer Drive to attack after using her Gae Bolga to seal Filia's movements, while Filia used Samson's varying transformations in order to counter Buer's fast attacks. The fight was a near stalemate up until the point that Painwheel used her weapon to swipe at Filia's feet, knocking her off balance. From then on, it was an onslaught, with Samson just barely able to protect Filia from taking serious damage.

Finally, the damage was too much, and Filia fell to the ground, panting and at the point of near exhaustion. Samson was not faring much better, and he now hung low, rendering Filia totally defenseless. With this, Painwheel prepared her strongest attack, now moving the Buer Drive at high speeds to tackle Filia with it. But just as Painwheel was about to connect with her devastating attack...

*Clap*

The person standing upon the roof suddenly appeared, and clapped his hands together, stopping the Buer Drive mid attack. While he was able to stop the attack, the ground beneath his feet ended up cracking in the process. Despite this, he spoke to Filia while holding Painwheel's blade.

"Sorry I'm a tad late in assisting you. It takes a while to get down from a building, especially if you want to avoid being seen by an opponent. Regardless, you have my apologies for your suffering". And with that, he nimbly threw Painwheel a fair distance away, despite of the fact that Painwheel's combined weight of over 500 pounds. Suffice it to say, Filia was quite stunned.

"Who-who are you?"

"Me?" spoke the young man with a grin. "I've had several names by this point, but for now, just call me Aiden. It's a pleasure to meet you".

**Finally done with this chapter. Again, sorry for the wait, but along with the wait, it took me a while to figure out the style for my fight scenes. By the way, any opinions on those would be nice, as I hope to improve on those later on. And finally, the name for my character's true form has finally been given. Plan on explaining that coming up soon. Well, hope you all enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Past and Present Collide

**Here we are now, the next chapter. Sorry to end the last one at a cliffhanger, but had I gone any longer, it would have been a giant chapter, and I am trying to hold out on those until I am closer to the end. With that said, let's continue. **

Chapter 5: The Past and Present Collide

"Ai-Aiden"? It was still taking a moment for Filia to recover from her previous beating, so she was unsure as to if the person in front of her was really there. It didn't help that he seemed thoroughly strange to her, even considering all of the odd things you tend to see in New Meridian.

"Technically Aiden Donovan, though I do wish that is the only name I could be called by. I am also called Ragnarök, Fenrir, Subject 13, and on occasion, Vile Monster". Despite the destruction around him, as well as the fact that Painwheel beginning to recover, the young man was focusing solely on Filia. It was then that he proceeded to pick Filia up, much to Samson's chagrin, and move her to a nearby alley. This meant that she would be protected from the fight, while still being able to see everything that happens.

"Again, you have my humble apologies for not aiding you sooner."

"Well why weren't you faster, you asshole," was Samson's reply, showing that he still had his course tongue despite being exhausted. That being said, all he could do at this point was complain. Sadly, Aiden was also a tad argumentative when annoyed.

"Well I'm sorry, but I didn't feel like rushing into a fight against an opponent I'm unfamiliar with."

So in other words, you're a wuss."

"No, I'm just a tactician"

"Wuss, tactician, those words mean the same thing to me"

"Hence why you're the one who couldn't even protect his partner just now."

"You take that back, you little-"

"Sorry to interrupt your fight, but I think that girl is getting back up." As enjoyable as it was to have Samson yell at someone beside her, she could See that Painwheel was upright again, and looked like she was ready for round two. With this, Filia got up to fight as well, but she only got up about halfway before she fell over, only avoiding crashing into the ground by Aiden catching her.

"I moved you here for a reason. That last assault on you did a lot of damage. For now, you should just rest here."

"But-but"

"Don't worry. In case you've forgotten, I am quite strong. Also, it would go against everything I believe in as a gentleman to let a lady such as yourself get hurt." While these words were kind to Filia, Samson could only respond with his typical sarcastic tone.

"Oh, spare me. Do you really think that 'gentleman' routine is going to work at all?" retorted Samson.

"It's not a routine, it's a lifestyle. Anyway, leave this girl to me, and afterwards, I have a couple of questions I need to ask you. But for now, I ask that you rest." And with that, Aiden promptly walked outside of the alley, ready to face his opponent

Filia contemplated this for a Aiden seemed nice enough, she was unsure of if she could trust him, even if her amnesia would leave him very little to ask her that she could really answer. So, without anyone better to ask, she consulted Samson.

"I'm not sure what we should do here Samson. What do you think we should do?"

"What we should do, kid, is prepare to run away when the fight ends."

"But why?"

"Look, he may be confident, but that other girl just whooped both of our asses. Besides..." Samson paused, trying to explain the next part in the best way possible. "I get this odd feeling off the guy."

"Odd?"

"Its hard to explain, but if feels like he is constantly at the edge between sanity and madness. I think if we stick around him, he could end up hurting us."

"Samson, are you sure. He doesn't seem that-"

"Kid, please. Just trust me on this one."

Filia was rather surprised. Samson is not the kind of person to say please. For him to do so, he must have been desperate.

"Ok. When the fight ends, I'll be ready to run."

**Meanwhile, on the main street...**

"Sorry about that, but I wanted to ensure that we could have our fight uninterrupted. By the way, I have a question before we start: is the original girl still in control?"

"Go to Hell!" was Painwheel's response, followed by her launching several Gae Bolga Stingers, one of which hit Aiden, doing a fair bit of damage on his left arm. This was proven to be moot, however, as his body quickly healed the wound.

"Thought not. But I had to be sure, it means that I have far less of a reason to hold back on you. But," stated Aiden" I have one other question: Where is Lab Zero?" This question did not result in positive results either, as now Painwheel launched herself at him, but this time he was prepared, and proceeded to grab her by the tail connecting the Beur Drive to her body. After that, he proceeded to fling her to the ground several times, and with a great heave, flung her straight up into the air. What he didn't expect was the Beur Drive spinning like a helicopter blade, allowing her to remain in the air to recover.

"Well that was...unexpected. On the plus side, at least this makes things more fun. So," said Aiden, now entering his fighting stance, which is similar to Muay Thai, except that he held his hands half open, allowing him to use his claws, "Let's fight." And with that, the true battle began.

Painwheel began the assault by launching out her Buer Thresher, but Aiden quickly dodged out of the way. Then, before she could retract her spears, he used one as a spring to jump above her, followed by a kick to the center of her back, sending her crashing to the ground, but before Aiden could get in his dive kick, Painwheel rolled out of the way. This left Aiden stuck in the ground long enough for Painwheel to grab him with the Buer Drive, followed by a hard punch, two consecutive times.

"I'll admit" said Aiden with a groan, as his body was now having work to recover from the injuries, "that actually hurt a little." And with that, he began laughing, clearly enjoying his current situation despite his injuries. "I have to thank you. This is the first real fight I've had in a good while. Though you will have to forgive me, I thuroughly underestimated you, so allow me to use a more fitting amount of power." And with a loud roar, he removed two more nails from his body, which enhanced his strength even more, as well as causing his hair to grow even longer, now reaching halfway down his back.

"Sixty. Sixty percent should make this a far more entertaining fight." He then proceeded to leap straight at Painwheel, fist ready to punch. However, just as Painwheel was ready to block, he stepped to the side, being behind her as if he had teleported there. Leaving her no time to react, Aiden proceeded to send a sharp elbow to her back, both damaging her and sending her flying. He didn't stop there however, as before she got too far away, he launched her into the air with an uppercut, followed closely by several kicks and slashes with his claws, ending the combo with a kick aimed straight at her chest. Before it connected, however, Painwheel sent a quick strike with the Gae Bolga, which stopped his attack. And with that, both sent out a strong air combo, Aiden with his claws, and Painwheel with her Beur Drive, both of which connected. This resulted in both taking hits, sending the pair to the ground, each one now panting.

Looking upwards at a nearby clock, Aiden saw that it was 6:20, meaning that he had already spent his time in his combined state for a full 20 minutes. _This is bad, _he thought. _I've spent too much time fighting this girl, especially because I need five minutes to get that girl in the alley over to Lab Zero. Granted, she might have recovered enough to walk there by now. Wait, is she still there?_ So Aiden spared a glance to the alley, and saw that Filia was still there, noticeably healed and clearly ready to move. _Probably waiting for one of us to win so that she can run. No doubt about it, I have to end this fight soon so that I can convince that girl that she can trust me. I was hoping to avoid assaulting her mentally, but its the only way._

So without any alternative, he leapt straight at her, while also reaching out towards her with his mind, so that he could properly restrain her. When he got inside her head, however, he was surprised by what he heard.

_Please don't hurt me._

_Wait, what? _This shock resulted in Aiden lowering his guard for a moment, giving Painwheel ample time to whack him with the Beur Drive, sending him a fair distance away. _So it wasn't a fluke, _he thought, _The original personality is still alive in there somewhere. Maybe I can talk with her. _This time around Aiden kept moving around her, but still connected with her mind enough to communicate with her.

**In Carol's Mind...**

_Please, just run off so we can stop fighting. _Spoke carol, expecting no reply towards her outcry against violence. So imagine her shock when someone actually did say something back.

_Sorry, but I have a few questions I desperately need to ask you. But I wish I didn't have to hurt you. I believe I remember you telling that other girl before your name was Carol?_

_Wait, who are you, and why is it that you can even hear me? _Asks Carol, clearly confused over being talked to by someone for the first time in years.

_My name is Aiden, and I happen to be able to use my brain in unique ways. But more on that later, I have some questions to ask you, and not enough time to explain myself. If your willing to trust me, I can help you maybe even heal your mind._

_Really _said Carol, contemplating for a moment the idea of being able to live as a normal girl again. _But wait, _she asks, _Why should I even trust you? _Carol was fairly sharp, and considering the fight they had, she had fair reason to hesitate.

_Because I'm a Lab Zero subject as well. Well, former subject. But trust may, I would never do anything that would intentionally help them. Also, I swear that I would never try to hurt someone if I didn't have a choice. Please, I know I may not be making the best case, but I need you to trust me, so that we can stop Lab Zero from hurting anyone else. _

Carol considered what he said, but seeing that he had a mutual dislike for Lab Zero, she felt like it would be good to trust him.

_Ok, I'll trust you._

_Great, though I must apologize._

_For what?_

_This, sadly_, and in the real world, Aiden dashed straight up to Painwheel, and proceeded to knee her hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of her, as well as knocking her unconscious. In the process, her mask fell off her face, revealing what she really looked like.

"Wow, even with the scars on her face, she's actually kind of pretty. Well great, now I feel even worse over having to do that. Wait, what's that weird noise" and once again looking towards the alleyway, he saw that something weird was happening with Filia. She was holding her head, and looked like she was in an intense amount of pain.

**Back in the Alley...**

"Kid, what's wrong?" Asked Samson, showing a rare amount of genuine concern for his own partner. Even being only attached to her, he knew something was happening.

"My head. It feels like its splitting open." It was the oddest thing. The moment that Filia saw Painwheel's face, several memories from her past started flowing into her head all at once. She could clearly see the girl Painwheel was, now remembering her name was Carol, and that they were even best friends. Even stranger, she remembered that her hair is in fact naturally blond. Just as fast as they flowed, however, it felt as if something was trying to repress these, and the contrasting force resulted in the intense amount of pain. Eventually, the strain became too much, and Filia fell to the ground. Thankfully, Samson was now mostly healed, and used his tendrils to stop her from hitting her head on the wall.

"Easy now. You okay there kid?" Noticing that his jeering did not obtain the normal reaction, he took a closer look at his partner, and noticed that she had passed out just like Painwheel.

"Filia? What the heck happened?"

"I've seen something like this once before." said Aiden, who was now carrying with him a recently remasked Painwheel, and carefully set her down. He then proceeded to move to a nearby trashcan where he had put his clothes in an airtight bag. While he was changing into his normal clothes, he began explaining:

"If I have to guess, this girl has amnesia. Her memories must have triggered by something, probably this young lady here, but there seems to be something surpressing her mind. Inevitably, she couldn't take the shock, so she passed out. On a side note, the girl's thighs are not that big, and it was rude to suggest that."

"Wait, how did you know about the thigh joke?"

"I was listening in on that conversation you had before," said Fenrir nonchalantly. He had just finished changing, and proceeded to put in all but two of the nails back into his arm. This power reduction left him with only a little muscle relatively, as well as his hair now shortening down to what could be considered passable for a guy. "And seeing as we are both heading in the same direction, you could do me a great help by carrying yourself and that girl to Lab Eight with me."

"And why in the hell should I do that?"

"Because I might be able to help this girl with her amnesia, as well at this Lab Zero subject. If we can take care of these two, I can get closer to finding Lab Zero, and you will have a good chance of getting whatever it is you want the Skullheart for."

"Wait, how did you know-"

"It seemed suspicious. Granted, the Skullheart would bring back her memories, but why make that your first choice when you could easily find other ways to deal with amnesia? Clearly, you have some sort of wish, and you're hoping that by helping the girl, you might convince her to make the wish for you."

Samson was stuck. The boy had hit it dead on the nail, only missing one bit of information he never could have known. He knew there was no point in trying to disagree with him, especially because he seemed strong enough to take him, especially with an unconscious Filia, by force.

"Do you promise you won't hurt Filia?"

"On my honor as a man, at least as long as you don't hurt this young lady here" and with that, Aiden picked up Painwheel bridal-style, as it would allow him to move fast without dropping her. Samson, meanwhile, moved two of his tendrils so that they could act as a second set of legs.

"Deal. Well, let's get going then." Now that both were ready, they set off, each one hoping that they would be able to find what they were looking for at Lab Eight. Meanwhile, both of the girls were thinking of the other, and the bond that they once shared, though Filia was still trying to fight whatever was blocking her memories. On all minds, conscious or otherwise, the same thought was occurring to them:

How is this all going to end?


	6. Chapter 6: The Wolf vs The Bird

**Here we are now at chapter 6, and sorry for the wait, but moving stuff has happened, and that has taken up quite a bit of time. Before I do anything else, I want to point out some of the character's ages, as that is going to come up in the next few chapters. So Filia, Carol, Aiden, Leduc, and Hive are all 18, give or take a couple months; Peacock and Marie are 13, Big Band is 34, Valentine is 30, Avian is 90, and I'm going to hold off on revealing Brain Drain's age, as that requires a bit of an explanation that occurs later on. If you want to complain about potential inaccuracies, please find a nearby shredder and lodge all complaints there. And I'm not even going to guess Double's age, as that character is basically immortal. And yes, I am basicly saying what characters are in this story, but that shouldn't be a major problem, and most of these seemed inevitable. Well, let's continue where we left off.**

Chapter 6: The Wolf vs The Bird

In most cases, five minutes wouldn't seem like a very long span on time. When two people are arguing endlessly, however, it can seem to go on for an eternity. This was the reason why Samson and Aiden barely noticed that five minutes had passed, meaning that Aiden had been himself for thirty minutes, right as they were nearing a massive door under a bridge just outside of Little Innsmouth, and served as the main entrance for Lab 8. It was still ongoing, even as Aiden was setting the still unconscious Painwheel down for a moment to knock on the door, and Samson was using his tendrils to lower himself and Filia down, an effort that was fairly easy with Filia still out of commision as well.

"I still don't see why you didn't just jump from the building you were on top of."

"Like I said, It would have taken to long to regenerate the damage that a 10 story fall would cause. Also, I needed to put my change of clothes somewhere."

"But you still would have survived, so a bit of a lame excuse."

"Look, you clearly wouldn't... Ah!" All of a sudden, Aiden grabbed the sides of his head, clearly in pain. Along with that, both his eyes were now flickering both colors, one moment white and blue, the next red and black. "Crap, looks like my time's up."

"What are you even talking about?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain, so put simply, a different part of me is going to be taking over for a little while. But we all share the same memories, so you should be fine, and our promise will still be in effect."

"I still don't get what's going on, but as long as Filia is OK, I don't care."

To this Aiden laughed, in spite of how much pain he was in. This came off as very odd to Samson.

"What's so funny?"

"Its just that," Said Aiden, his voice now alternating, "You only ever seem to call her 'Kid' to her face. I wonder why that is?" And with that, Aiden finally split his mind apart, both of his eyes now their more natural white and blue coloration.

"That's none of your business. Anyway, what about all your secrets, 'Aiden', if that even is your real name."

"It isn't right now." Samson was shocked, as the person in front of him had just started speaking in a far higher tone, and he had just noticed the eye change.

"Who are you, then?"

"Ragnorok. That's the name I have when I am like this."

_And I am Fenrir._ This was even stranger, as now Samson heard a deep voice, but this one was clearly coming from his head

"What- How?"

"Trust us, you'll have all the answers you want shortly. But first, let's see if the Doctor is in." But before Ragnorok could even make it to the door, he felt the oddest sensation of something creamy on the back of his head, followed shortly by a very hard pan hitting him, which sent him flying.

When Ragnorok looked up to find the source of the assault, he noticed that there was a new person among them, and even among them, she was rather odd. She was a young girl, barely a teenager, and wore a full skirt dress, along with a top hat and a bow, all of which were this odd crimson/purple color. But the strangest part was the location of her eyes. Where a person's eyes would normally be, there were instead just holes, and instead she had robotic arms with eyes that clearly served as a way to let her see. Completing this overall strange image was a carrot, which she was eating, and proceeded to use her own version of a famous character's catchphrase.

" Ehh _Chomp Chomp Chomp, _What's up dork?"

"I thought it was 'up doc'." Said Ragnorok, who had now found his bearings, and was clearly quite agitated over getting hit by a pie.

"Doc, dork, I still plan on whooping your keester either way."

"Look, miss, I don't want any trouble. All I want to do is talk to Dr. Avian. I don't mean any harm."

"Well too bad, 'cause harm is coming your way." And with that, Peacock proceeded to punch Ragnorok square in the chest, injuring him yet again. This time, when Ragnorok got up, his eyes flickered for a moment, clearly itching for a fight.

"Oh, little girl, you really don't get on my bad side. I'm not so nice when I get angry."

"Neither am I. And my name isn't 'Little Girl'. Its Peacock. Now, Go!" And with that, Peacock launched a flying bomb right at the group, and Ragnorok took the blast, knowing that letting Samson block it could hurt Filia in the process. On the plus side, it did a very small amount of damage, and that healed quickly. Downside was that it also blew a hole in his shirt, and that was the final straw for him. With a growl, Ragnorok switched places with Fenrir, causing his eyes to turn his trademark red and black, and he also proceeded to strip down to his battle gear for the second time in as many hours.

"That's it, you've officially pissed me off. That jacket was a gift from someone dear to me."

"That ratty old thing?" The ensuing silence was practically suffocating, as Fenrir went from annoyed to outright berserk, and promptly proceeded to remove four nails from his arm, totaling to six in total, as he had already removed two to more easily carry Painwheel.

"Oh, you should not have gone there. Before, I was just going to hurt you, but now I'm going to slaughter you." And with that and his transformation complete, he leapt straight at Peacock, leaving his nails on the ground on top of his clothes.

Samson was rather shocked. The person fighting in front of him acted almost entirely different from the person that had admittedly saved Filia minutes ago. While the basic style was the same, it was far more reckless. For a start, in spite of all the explosives and guns launched at him, he kept moving forward, regardless of how bad he was being injured. Instead, he focused entirely on offense, attacking Peacock as many times as possible, though he seemed to prefer using his claws in lieu of normal punches and kicks. With this more aggressive nature, he was able to match Peacock's more hit-and-run strategy, though neither one could really get a solid hit on the other. That was until Peacock moved a fair distance away, and threw a bunch of explosives that forced Fenrir to stop for a moment. With a moment to prepare, she opened the top of her hat, which revealed a peacock-like head popping up, and on top of this was a rather strange bird.

"Argus-" and from the robotic head, she fired a large lazer, which both hurt and stunned him.

"Oh, man that bit."

"Agony!" Following the previous blast, she revealed she also had a large tail full of eyes, which proceeded to bombard him with laser bullets, totaling in for quite a bit of damage. Even with his healing, Fenrir had amassed a fair bit of damage by this point.

"That's it. I am done with you and your aggravating keep-away game. I'm gonna end this now!" And Fenrir motioned to his remaining nails, and was about to pull them all out, until he heard a voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Fenrir, Peacock, you both need to stop right now!"

Both of the fighters stopped, and now that they looked around, they saw two things. The first was the copious amount of collateral they had caused. The other was that Dr. Avian, along with Iluem, Big Band (known to some as Ben), and the younger subjects were all outside, looking somewhat frightened at the conflict they had just seen, even though they all still hung just outside of the entrance into the Lab. Fenrir quickly transitioned back into Ragnorok, as he was always better when talking to Avian.

"Doc..."

"Mr. Avian, sir..."

"I'm going to ignore for a moment the fact that Fenrir is back..." said Dr. Avian, to which Ragnorok was quick to interrupt.

"Uh, technically I am currently Ragnorok." This however earned only a glare from Dr. Avian, who promptly continued his scolding.

"And instead just ask what on earth compelled you two to have such a destructive fight, especially this close to the Lab. What would have happened if some innocent bystander had passed by. Someone could have seriously gotten hurt."

"But he looked like a threat..."

"She started it..."

"Enough! You two are both supposed to act as a symbol of the best defense the world has against supernatural threats. You are supposed to be fighting the Skullgirl, not each other." To this, Ragnorok and Peacock could only stare at the ground, ashamed that they had disappointed Avain. Even though Ragnorok hadn't seen Avain in years, he still looked up to the man like a father, so every word of disappointment hit like a car. As for Peacock, the man had saved her, even given her sight back when it seemed like she would never see again, as well as give her the closest thing she had ever had to a home, so it hurt just as bad. This left the pair both feeling guilty, and they both looked right at each other.

"We really messed up, didn't we?"

"Big time, little- I mean Peacock." And with that, the pair faced Dr. Avian, by this point each was barely suppressing tears, and together they said something that he never expected either, especially Peacock, to ever say.

"We're sorry Dr. Avian. We were reckless, and we feel terrible for disappointing you so much."

To say Avian was stunned would have been an understatement. Neither one ever had a personality that would normally allow them to apologize for something, even if it was their fault. Granted, Ragnorok had been gone for four years, so he could have mellowed out, but Peacock rarely felt bad for anything, even if she hurt someone. Feeling like they now needed to be consoled, he walked right up to them, and patted them on the head.

"Its all right. I just want all of the subjects here, you two included, to be more than just weapons to fight the Skullgirl. I want you all to be able to live normal lives outside of the Lab, and to have the right to be people again." He paused for a moment, allowing what he said to sink in for both of them. "Now come on in, with the arrival of Fenrir, there is clearly much to discuss."

Now knowing that Dr. Avian was not about to punish them, they both began to move to take care of their businesses, with Peacock going right inside, while Ragnorok went over to to Filia, Painwheel, and his clothes, and it was here that Dr. Avain noticed something: in spite of how much collateral that they had caused, nowhere around where that group was had even a scorch mark. This was truly impressive: for someone like the reckless Fenrir, who had obviously done the fighting, to ensure that something around him was spared any damage, showed that he had obtained a larger amount of self-control. It was then that he noticed the two people that he was bringing with him, or more specifically Painwheel. While the Buer Drive was clearly visible, he had to search for a moment before he confirmed the other Parasite, which meant two, a feat that only one other had achieved.

"This girl-could she be..."

"The newest Lab Zero subject. She was clearly on her way here. It seems that what we have always feared has finally come to pass."

"You mean..."

"Yes: It looks like Lab Zero has now found you obsolete, and I doubt he would be foolish enough to only send one subject. We should plan on Valentine's arrival, possibly with other powerful subjects to support her."

"I-I always prepared if he did, but I never assumed..."

"What? That Brain Drain would get sentimental and not attack. I knew him for only two years, and even I know that man lacks a shred of humanity." said Ragnorok, as he put in all but two nails so that he could continue to carry Painwheel into the Lab.

"I suppose you are right. so why bring the girl here? Why not just destroy what is now being called 'Lab Zero's magnum opus'?" The look on Ragnorok's face was one of pure empathy towards Painwheel, and it was clear that on some level, he cared about her.

"Because while I hate Brain Drain, I have to hope that those he has experimented on can be saved. After all" he said with a grin, "look at how I turned out."

"Yes, I suppose you have turned out for the better. It even seems like you and Fenrir have actually learned to work together. What did you do after you left?" he asked Ragnorok

"Soul-searching, with a bit of tragedy and action mixed in. I'll tell you later, but for now, we have to take care of this girl, as well as the other one over there." And with that, he pointed at Filia, who despite all the ruckus the fight created, was still unconscious. Who was conscious was Samson, who was clearly baffled that Dr. Avian and Ragnorok knew each other. However, their next words set his mind at ease.

"There should be room in the med-bay for that girl, right? She's just unconscious, and that seems as good a place as any for her to wake up in"

"Yes, there should be, and I'll have Iluem and Ben take them there." And with that, he beckoned the pair over, and they were clearly excited over Ragnorok's return, even if they opted to first crack a joke at his expense.

"My, my." Said Iluem. "Only 18, and he's already bringing a girl home with him." This caused Ragnorok to blush deeply, earning a chuckle from the group, even Dr. Avian.

"Wow, she was just joking, but by that expression, it seems like he actually does like her." said Big Band. While this also made Ragnorok feel awkward, this time he was prepared with a response.

"And what about you two?" said Ragnorok, alternating looks at the pair. "I left four years ago, and even then you were making lovey-eyes at each other. By this time, you should already be together." Their response was so good, he wished that someone had a camera, as the two looked awkwardly at each other, then down, then back towards each other for several moments. All the while, they were awkwardly stuttering things like:

"Well"

"You see"

"It would feel weird"

"It would be unprofessional"

By the end, Ragnorok, Dr. Avian, and Peacock, who had joined the group by this point, were all laughing themselves sore. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Ragnorok continued.

"In all seriousness, it is good to see you guys again. By the way, Illuem, before I forget, I'm sorry to say that I ended up damaging those clothes you gave me." He said, pointing at the clothes, which were left on the ground. Bending over, Iluem grabbed the clothes, and examined them. Alongside general wear and tear, she noticed the giant hole in the middle of his shirt.

"Would you care to explain how this happened?"

"That would be me!" said Peacock, seeming to take a bit of pride in the destruction. After reading the situation for a moment, however, she promptly felt a tad embarrassed. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"Its fine. They were getting a bit ratty, anyway."

"Tell you what," said Iluem. "Why don't you give those to me, and I'll have them sewn up and adjusted for length. After all, you seem to have grown a bit in four years.

"Really? Thanks so much, Illuem. By the way, do you think you could lend me a hand Ben? The parasites this girl has in her make her weigh half a ton.

"Now Ragnorok, is it really that good of an idea to say a girl is heavy, especially if-"

"Will you give it a rest already!"

"Ha ha, sorry, but I couldn't resist one more jab. Anyway, I'll be glad to lend a hand." said Ben, carefully grabbing and holding Painwheel carefully in his arms, almost as if she were made out of glass. With that, Ragnorok looked around, and he noticed that Samson still had yet to move.

"Just follow us. We plan on taking both of you over to the med-bay, and it would be a lot easier for all of us if you just walked yourself and Filia over there."

With a moment's hesitation, Samson proceeded to get up, and used his tendrils to yet again move Filia over to the Lab doors, and all the secrets that laid inside.

**Finally done. As I said, sorry for the long wait, but I had moving stuff going on. Hoping to avoid that causing more schedule delays, but it may happen. On a side note, I have recently made a poll for the next story, and you can see and vote on it right on my profile page. Results will close when I am closer to completing this book. As ever, read, review, and stay classy people.**


	7. Chapter 7: The Old Friends Reunite

**Here we are, now, Chapter 7. Only two things to note this time. Firstly, I forgot to state that Iluem is 35, and talking of age, anyone notice the little gag I have with Big Band's age? Second thing, I'm interested in a Beta Reader, and if anyone would like to help, I'd always be willing to hear some extra input. Main thing I could use some help on is the romantic element of this and future stories, and plan on doing several other things besides Skullgirls. Please PM me if your interested.**

Chapter 7: The Old Friends Reunite

The youngest of Lab 8's subjects were surprised by the events outside, to say the least. They had never seen most of the new arrivals, especially due to the fact that the only one of them had been a previous member before, and he'd left before most of them had even arrived at the Lab. Some of the older members, however, had been around long enough to know who he was, and they were ecstatic at Ragnorok's arrival. One of them, a young girl 12 years old with long black hair that sported an overall demented look walked up, and was actually grinning, which was a rarity for her.

"Your back! Big Brother Fen is back!" When Ragnorok noticed the girl, he grinned, and knelt down on one knee so that he was eye level with her.

"Well well, if it isn't little Alice. You seem to have grown a bit since last I saw you." And with that, he ruffled her hair, which furtherly made her grin.

"Wait, who are those other two with you?"

Their some people who ended up getting hurt, and need somewhere to rest. As for why Ben's carrying the girl, its because she is sleeping right now. The other one is too, but she has a friend with her to do the job himself." It was then that Alice noticed that it was not the girl who was moving, but her hair, which had the oddest mouth on top. She stared at it for a few moments, up until it started yelling at her.

"Back away a few steps girly. I am not something to stare at." Seeing that his yelling was ineffective, he proceeded to make a horrendous face and roared. "Roaaah!" That didn't work so well, either, and instead it caused Alice to just laugh. It wasn't just him, as Dr. Avian and the other Lab 8 residents were laughing as well.

"Its pretty futile trying to scare her, or most of Lab 8's residents. We've seen stuff that would give normal people nightmares, and freaking each other out is a bit of a regular occurrence. Most of us even find it amusing."

Samson was at a loss, and he had no clue how to react to someone that he couldn't intimidate. All he could do was just stay silent and move away, waiting for them to continue along to the med-bay. It was then that Alice remembered the other person that came with him.

"But what about the other person? And why is it that Ben is carrying her?" Ragnorok was stunned for a moment, then remembered the fact that Alice was always an oddly knowing girl, able to understand concepts like death and aging when she was only 7.

"She's a lot like me, and is here for the same reason I got here." While she was still grinning, she soon started to frown, clearly worrying about something.

"Does that mean she'll end up going away, like you?" Before Ragnorok could even answer, a voice he hadn't heard in years spoke, and clearly wasn't pleased.

"Yes, will you abandon us, and not even say a word again?" Ragnorok looked, and saw the source of the voice, and he took a breath as the sight of her. She was a decently tall girl, with a beelike dress, helped by its black and yellow colors, which oddly accented her blue-green eyes and purple hair. The only truly odd thing about her was this mark on her forehead, and looked like three scars pointing right at the center of her head. Next to her was another boy from his past, and he was even odder. He had spiky blond hair, which gave off the feeling of lightning, and served as an excellent accent to his electric-blue eyes. His most notable feature was that his arms and legs were mechanical, and featured copper wires all around them, and served as an odd contrast to his clothes, which featured X's all over the place, and gave off a far more subdued feel than his appendages.

"Hive, Leduc..." Said Ragnorok, as he stood up to face the pair. That proved to be a futile effort, as Hive proceeded to walk right up to him, and slapped him with a strength that did not seem to match her fairly slim frame. So strong was it, in fact, that it actually sent Ragnorok straight to the floor. Everyone was surprised by this, even Leduc, who was clearly thinking they were just going to scold him.

"Hive..."

"No! Don't you even dare try to stop me! You were hurting just as bad when he left. And you!" Hive said, now facing Ragnorok again. "How dare you come crawling back here after four years. Left without a word, and coming back without one either. Do you have the gall to think that you can just come and go as you please?" While there was clearly anger in her voice, Ragnorok could tell that there was something else behind it, and that was evident even without using his powers. Because of this, he was not too surprised when he heard what came next.

"Why did you leave us? And why couldn't you have least told us, and not just have Doc and Ben tell us the next day? Did the two years we spent as friends mean nothing to you? Do we really mean that little to you?" Hive said, now practically on the verge of tears. It was then that Ragnorok rose from the ground, face still red from Hive's slap, and grabbed the two in his arms, while looking at them dead in the eyes.

"Its because I cared about you both so much that I couldn't tell you to your faces. I see that was a mistake on my part, and for that I'm sorry." Hive was thoroughly confused, to say the least.

"Wait...What? How does that make any sense?"

"Because I needed to leave, though I never intended to be gone for so long. I meant for it to only take a year at most. Also, I never could find a way to contact the Lab while I was on my travels."

"You still could have told us when you first left." said Hive, tears now beginning to fall, and both Leduc and Ragnorok were getting watery-eyed as well.

"I had no other choice. It nearly killed me leaving at all, and if I'd told you guys goodbye, I'm not sure I ever could have left."

"Then why didn't you just stay."

"Because I had something to take care of, and I had to do it no matter what. Besides, now that I've taken care of it, I only have one thing left to do."

"And after that?" asked Leduc, speaking up for the first time, and his voice revealed he was just as sad as Hive, and he was just using his uncanny ability to keep his emotions in check when the situation demanded it. Now that he was sure how they both felt, Ragnorok put them even closer to him, so now they were all in a closely knit hug.

"After that, I'll be back here, the one true place I can truly call home, and this time, I'll be here for good." It was then that the group could no longer contained themselves, and they began to sob into each others arms. Soon, however, the sobs began to mix in with laughter.

The overall atmosphere of the room was one of a heartfelt return, as this act amongst everything else helped to solidify that Ragnorok was back. The only one who frown at this was Dr. Avian, the one man who was told why he had left in the first place.

_So then,_ he thought, _it seems like his other return did not go as planned. how terribly tragic. I suppose that now, this is the only place he has left._ Dr. Avian sighed at this, but he knew that he meant every word he had said outside, and was glad for at least that. In fact, the whole affair would have gone on for longer, up until the point that Painwheel muttered something in her sleep.

"No, please. Don't make me kill again."

Despite how quiet this was, most of the people were able to hear what she said. Hive was the first to react.

"Ok, I'll bite: in all honesty, who is that girl, and why did she have to kill?" With this, Ragnorok broke their hug, and examined Painwheel, who was still asleep in Big Band's arms, thankfully.

"Like I said before, she's a former Lab Zero subject called Painwheel, and I can guess that they would have wanted to be certain that she would follow their orders, no matter what. With time, however, I'm hoping that she'll be able to be one of us, and maybe even be a part of the group." Ragnorok looked straight at his old friends, clearly waiting for their reaction. the other two looked at each other for a moment, then smiled at Ragnorok.

"Sure." said Leduc. "Any friend of yours is a friend of ours."

"Besides," said Hive, "it would be nice to have a girl my age around here. No offense to you two, but being around guys all day could get annoying. Even after you left, Ragnorok, there have still been too few a number of girls around for my taste."

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver!" hollered Peacock at the top of her lungs, which resulted in everyone shushing her. "What?" she said, though this time she was far quieter.

"Try to show a little tact, we have two people that need to sleep. Also, I'll admit that Painwheel might be a tad... eh volatile. Actually, I was hoping to find you anyway, Leduc, so that you can lend a hand in helping to keep her in check."

"Yeah, no problem. So how do you want me to help?"

"When she wakes up, she'll end up being restrained, but I think that will work as well as it did for me. Because of that, I want you to hang around in the med bay so that you can help in restraining her."

"OK. Sounds good."

"What about me?" asked Hive. "Is there any way I can help?" Ragnorok was about to say something, but then he thought about it, and changed his answer.

"Actually, that other girl is unconscious as well, and could probably use a bit warmer of an introduction. Think you could be there to lend a hand with?"

"Sure. I'll be sure to give her a proper Lab 8 Introduction."

"Thanks, both of you. I'm gonna head there too because A. It would give us some decent time to catch up...

"True enough, and we have a lot to catch up on." said Leduc.

"And B. I think I need to pass out for a little while. I've had two fights and gotten slapped today, so I'm going to be so tired when I put the last two seals in." Ragnorok said, while also pointing at the remaining nails in his hand.

"Sorry about slapping you, by the way."

"Its no trouble. I deserved it anyway, even if I meant well in my actions. Have to say, though, Ow! How is it that getting slapped hurt worse than fighting two people?" Leduc was cracking up at this, as he too had been the recipient of Hive's slaps before, and he had begged the same question himself.

"One of life's great mysteries, I guess." this set the group off again, who now got up, and were ready to move on to the med bay. Now that he was sure that everything had settled down, Samson had begun moving again, and after a few minutes, they had arrived at the med-bay. It was a decently sized area, and had about 60 beds in all, each one offering enough space for some room to work around. They did not, however, go into any of these beds, and instead went into a room that was connected to the med bay. This left Samson confused for a moment, but Ragnorok explained.

"This part here is the main area. We use it in the event a large number of us are sick or injured, but there are only three of us, including myself, so we should just be able to sleep in here instead." And with that, he opened the door, and they found a rather lovely room which had only three beds total. Along with this, there were seveal seats that could be used so that someone could come in and stay in the room. The most notable aspect, however, were that all three beds were surrounded by curtains, which meant it would be very easy for a person to have some privacy, even if the room was full of people.

"The middle bed should be good for you, Samson, and it would be best to just let Filia sleep for another couple hours." Samson nodded, and smoothly crawled himself and Filia into the bed. While Samson had healed since his fight, carrying Filia everywhere had rendered him rather exhausted, so he had no problems with just sleeping for a while.

"Before I lose consciousness, I have one quick question: why did that little girl call you Fen, and why did she call you her brother?"

"Because that girl was about six when I got here, and it would have been impossible for her to pronounce Ragnorok properly, so I just gave her my favorite nickname for my other half. As for the "Big Brother" part, that's because we here at Lab 8 consider each other to be family. Not a lot of us have anywhere else to go, or else were abandoned when we were little. Its far better for everyone to heal if they feel like they have some place to belong." While it did seem odd at first, the explanation did make everything make perfect sense to Samson. With that, he had nothing else to worry about, so he just passed out, but not before saying one last thing.

"When I wake up, make sure that there's some booze somewhere..."

And with that, Samson fell asleep completely, and was clearly going to be out for a while.

"Well, there's one. So up next, we should take care of Painwheel, so Ben, would you put her on the right one?"

"Sure thing." said Ben, and he set Painwheel down on her cot, and with a care that seemed unlikely considering his large proportions, covered her in blankets. After that, Ragnorok and Avian proceeded to restrain her in the leather bindings attached to the bed, which would give at least a little time after she wakes up to restrain her properly. With that, Ragnorok removed her mask, setting it in one of the nearby chairs. This allowed Leduc and Hive to see her face for the first time.

"Huh, she's actually kind of cute without that mask on. Once you look past the scars, at least." Said Leduc.

"Easy there Leduc." said Ragnorok. "You should give her a little time to let her heal mentally before you try anything with her. Don't even know why you would, anyway, considering the fact that you already have Hive." This comment proceeded to make both Hive and Leduc blush deep red, a trait very uncharacteristic of both of them. "Oh, have you guys not tried anything yet? I've been gone for four years now, so I would have thought you two would have had some relationship by now."

Yet again, Hive proceeded to slap Ragnorok, though this time he had deserved it far less, and as such, she did not put in the usual amount of force. Instead, he ended up just getting sent to the bed on the left, which he had conveniently left open when he had chosen to stand in front of it. Instead of standing up, he just opted to sit in his bed, as he was clearly tired.

"Judging by that slap, there is clearly some interest, so I'm just going to say this: Leduc, if, by the time I have disassembled Brain Drain, you have not at least tried to make a relationship with Hive, I am going to personally beat you upside the head." Leaving Leduc and Hive to both just be flabbergasted by his statement, he now turned towards Dr Avian. "Sorry there, Doc, but I need to sleep so that I'll be ready when Valentine comes, so in the meantime, you need to start making preparations for the attack."

"But when will it be? We may not have enough time to prepare." To this, Ragnorok looked at the clock, and saw that it was about 7:00 P.M.

"She'll get here around midnight, both for the ease of moving unnoticed and her general flair for the dramatic. Will five hours be enough time for everyone to get ready?"

"Yes, more than enough. We could probably be ready in three hours."

"Three hours, eh? Then I have a request. Once your ready, come back to this room and wake me up, along with the other two, if they aren't already awake. That would allow the time to explain everything before the fight goes down."

"Sounds good. But why do you need both up? I understand Painwheel, but why the young girl... er, what is her name?

"Filia, and as for why, call it a hunch, but I think everything here is interconnected, including her supposed amnesia." All Avian could do is stare, but he knew that by the look on his face, that he was certain, and was interested as to what could connect all these pieces together.

"All right. I'll be back as soon as possible. You too, Ben, We'll need you to hold down the front-lines," And with that, Avian and Ben headed out the door, already thinking about how to get the message across fast. Shortly there after, Peacock started moving out as well.

"If someone's coming here for a fight, then I'd best be sure to get out my biggest and best toys." Leaving them only to stare and wonder at that statement, she headed towards her own room, bearing a fairly smug smile.

Illuem gave the remaining group a qucik look around.

"I think I'll go too. The younger members will need to be kept safe, otherwise this could turn into a full out slaughter. Besides,"she said, her voice implying that she was grinning, "I need to tidy up your room a little Ragnorok. Besides general clean-up, you'll find it was as you left it."

"Excellent. And go, I have no problems, and I'll be out cold for another few hours anyway." Leaving the three to Hive and Leduc, Illuem headed out, hoping for the best that would come of tonight. Now that they were alone, Ragnorok took a look at both of his dear friends, and it was as if time had never passed between them. They all looked so much like they did when he had left.

"I owe you both a full explanation, and I swear I'll tell you everything. But first, I really do need to sleep for a couple hours. Think you could stand waiting so that I can just explain all this one time only?" He waited for a moment, and allowed them to think for a moment.

"Sure." said Leduc

"No problem" said Hive, "We've waited four years for an explanation. We're more than willing to wait just a few more hours."

"Excellent. Well, I'm just gonna pass out, then. Make sure that the other two are kept safe, and make sure that I'm woken up along with them." And with that, Ragnorok put the last two nails in his arm, and with his transformation back to his neutral state, it was clear that he was dead tired.

"One last thing." Said Leduc."Are you still in there, Fenrir?"

_Alive and ready to kick your ass again_ said Fenrir, speaking with his typical arrogance, in spite of the fact he was clearly tired too. To this reply, Leduc could only grin as electricity coursed down his arms for a moment.

"Excellent. It definitely looks like we have a ton of catching up to do." Ragnorok grinned at this, glad to have his friends back.

"Well, if that's all, I am going to fall asleep. Night, you two, and do try not to make too much noise together." This caused the pair to blush yet again, but before they could respond, Ragnorok put his head on a pillow, and was out in seconds, Leaving the conscious pair to only stare at each other. With nothing else to do, they proceeded to grab a pair of chairs and sat down in them in the middle of the room, so that they could be ready whoever woke up first. It was notable that they set the chairs right next to each other, and when they sat down, they subconsciously grabbed each other's hand. Realizing this, they both turned a liitle redder and let go, and all they could do was wait and think about what all Ragnorok had said, and their own opinions on the matter. As with everything else, only time will tell.

**Finally Done, and I would like to note and apologize to the fact that these stories keep getting longer. This is unintentional, but it also means that each chapter takes more time. My method is essentially type to what I feel is a satisfactory stopping point. Well, nothing else to say but read, review, and do be sure to vote on my poll. See you next time.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Truth: Part 1

**Newest chapter, and nice to see that a good number of people are viewing. I wish I had a few more reviews for constructive criticism, but that's just me being a neurotic perfectionist. And I have gotten rather shippy recently, as I initially did not intend to ship Hive and Leduc, but after mulling it over, I found it made to much sense. Nothing else to say here, so enjoy**

Chapter 8: The Truth: Part 1

_Images constantly flow around Filia, some she was aware of, some not. A friend, a version of herself with blond hair, a pool, an operating table, and so many visions of pain. They swirled round and round, and were threatening to suffocate her. All of a sudden, she saw a monstsrosity of a machine, with a Brain seen through a glass dome, and was reaching for her, threatening to kill her. His hands were around her neck, and he began to squeeze._

_She was suffocating, struggling to get any sort of breath. Any second now, she was going to die. She was fading..._

*Gasp*

Filia woke up with a start, gasping for air. After allowing her to breathe for a few moments, Hive got her attention:

"Its ok, Its ok, you're safe here." she said, while also putting her hand on Filia's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. After a few minutes, Filia got her bearings, and finally started looking around to find out where she was. She now noticed that she appeared to be in some sort of medical room, and that her vision was obscured by a set of curtains, so the only person who could see her was Hive.

"Where am I? The last thing I remember was fighting that one girl, and then that boy who called himself Aiden saved me."

"Aiden?" asked Hive, clearly not knowing Ragnorok by his other name.

"That kid with the black hair. Do you know him?" To this, Hive had an odd reaction.

"Do you mean him?" And with this, Hive parted the curtain on the left, revealing Ragnorok, who was still sleeping. While it did take a moment to recognize him in his neutral state, she could still know.

"Yes, that's him, though his hair is quite different. It was a lot longer before." Hive was not sure of how to react to this, as she herself was not too familiar with Ragnorok's distant past. As it was, she was still waiting for an explanation from him in that area.

"Forget it, where we are is the Eighth Anti-Skullgirl Lab. You were brought here unconscious by Aiden, or as I know him Ragnorok, and your parasite friend."

"Samson did?" at the sound of his name, Samson began stirring from his sleep, but promptly fell back, still exhausted from carrying her all the way there. "I guess that explains how I got here, but I still don't get why I'm here."

"For one, this was a good a place as any for you to recover, especially due to Ragnorok's better nature, and apparently he thinks your important for his explanation of what he was doing for four years, as well as his planned attack on Brain Drain. He said that you may have amnesia. Is that correct?"

"Yeah, I lost my memories about a year ago, and I've spent all my time searching since then. But what would that have to do with him?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, though since you are up, and its about 10, I should wake him up so you can ask for yourself." And with that, Hive walked over and began to shake Ragnorok awake. While she was doing this, Filia looked up, and saw that in fact is was just about 9:45, meaning she had been unconscious for over three hours. Before she could take this in, however, Ragnorok began stirring, and woke with a hearty yawn.

"Man, has it already been three hours since I fell asleep? Well, nothing I can do about it." And with that, he began looking around to see who all was awake. After seeing Filia was awake, Ragnorok grinned a little, but the grin came in full when he noticed that Leduc was still asleep. "Glad to see you are awake, Filia. We should all start getting up now, especially because its going to take a few minutes to hold down Painwheel after she inevitably flips out. Care to lend me a hand, Hive?"

"What are you planning?"

"Oh nothing too terrible," said Ragnorok, a smug grin still plastered on his face. "Just making up for lost time." And with that, Ragnorok moved over to where Leduc was still napping in his chair, and after a moment, motioned for Hive to come over there. Hesitating for a moment, she moves alongside him.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Just put your face in front of his, and I'll handle the rest." With that, Hive put her face in front of Leduc, momentarily noting that Leduc looked kind of cute when he was sleeping. She had very little time to think of this, however, as Ragnorok had already set his plans in motion, and Leduc started to murmur in his sleep, at first unintelligibly, but one word finally came out, and it was a certain person's name.

"...Hive..." And upon saying that, he leaned forward and kissed her right on the lips, the warmth of which proceeded to wake him up from his dreams, and to find he was doing the same action in reality was a shock, to say the least. After only a second or two, the pair parted lips, as well as moved a few inches away from each other, both blushing scarlet. While this was happening, Ragnorok externally and Fenrir internally were laughing at their reactions.

"Oh, I regret nothing, that reaction is just downright priceless. I wish I had a camera. Hahahaha." While Hive moved to hit him for the third time in as many hours, Leduc instead grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Allow me." he said, electricity starting to gather lightly in his arms, clearly displaying an ample amount of annoyance. Hive could only nod at this, knowing that there was no stopping Leduc when he got mad. So she instead just watched as he charged his right arm, preparing to throw a punch at Ragnorok.

"100,000 Volts!" And with that, Leduc threw a very powerful electric punch, but just before it connected, Ragnorok, who had switched over to let Fenrir do some work, had also removed two nails, and was therefore ready to counter Leduc's punch with one of his own, even if it would not be as powerful. This resulted in both being sent to the opposite walls, which made a decent ruckus, and causing Samson to wake up with a start, though Carol, who was rather used to loud noises at Lab Zero, did not seem to mind too terribly the impacts. From both walls a groan could be heard, followed by both Leduc and Fenrir falling to the ground, having taken at least a fair bit of damage from the impact. It was Leduc who recovered enough to talk first, and he asked the most obvious question.

"What the heck man? Why did you force me to kiss Hive." Unfortunately, Fenrir was still healing, so instead it was Ragnorok who spoke to them, with his voice being heard in the heads of everyone in the room.

_Ok, for starters, you cannot deny you enjoyed that kiss, Leduc. Secondly, my powers can't force people to do anything. I can only influence feelings that are already present. Also, I just made the dream you were already having a little more lucid._ To this, Leduc, who was shockingly quite used to discussions like this, could only gape at, knowing that his most recent dream was in fact an imaginary date with Hive.

"How did you...?"

"Because"said Ragnorok, who had switched back yet again, and how now found his bearings to talk normally "I've learned to use my psychic abilities more. Now, when I'm asleep near people who are asleep at the same time is me, I can see whatever they are dreaming about at the time. But don't worry, I'll be sure to keep the details a secret." He said, with a very smug grin. "Though because of that, I'm more certain now than ever that I did right in bringing Filia with me to the Lab." To this, Filia only gave a confused look, while Samson was still trying to wake up from only three hours of sleep.

"Why do you think I'm so important? I don't have any memories before a year ago? I doubt I have any information you wouldn't already have." Ragnorok was silent for a moment, trying to find the easiest way to explain why.

"Because what you saw in your dream is something that only a few people have ever seen. He's called Brain Drain, and he was the one..." However, Ragnorok stopped, as at the sound of the name of Lab Zero's director, Painwheel began to stir. "Shoot, she's starting to wake up. Leduc, I'm sorry that I made you do something that, let's face it. you would end up trying on your own anyway. But right now, I need you to help me hold her down, at least until I can use my powers to restrain her mentally. Think we could let bygones be bygones so that we avoid a repeat of when I first got here?" Remembering what had happened, Leduc begrudgingly nodded, and the pair headed over to her bed, and moved the curtain, where it was clear they only had a few moments before she woke up. Filia could only look at the scene in confusion. So she turned to Hive, who was still cooling off from the kiss.

"What happened when Aiden-I mean Ragnorok-first got here?" Hive frowned at this, having clear memories of what had happened the day Ragnorok had arrived.

"He ended up going berserk, and he destroyed several of the rooms down here. He also attacked several people, though the worst was just a broken bone or two." This gave Filia a look of concern, for obvious reasons.

"Are you sure that Leduc and Ragnorok can handle it on their own, especially with how mad they are at each other right now?" Hive smiled at this.

"Oh don't worry, those two could fight for hours on end, but at the end of the day, they'll always have each other's backs. Their like brothers, in a way." Filia was still not sure about that, but she decided to hope that they would be able handle this on their own, as she was still not fully recovered from her fight with Painwheel earlier.

While the two ladies were talking together, Ragnorok and Leduc were having their own conversation.

"Look, I really am sorry for what happened, but I want to be sure you two get together. I mean, you two are practically made for each other." This caused Leduc to blush, as he did in fact have a crush on Hive for the past five years.

"You still could let me take this at my pace."

"If I let you take it at your pace, then we'd have to wait until the pair of you are thirty, and it could be too late by that point. Besides..." Ragnorok paused for a moment, unsure if he should tell Leduc the truth, "...For all the bravado I had about it before, I'm not sure I can actually beat Brain Drain, or at least survive too." This shocked Leduc, as Ragnorok was not the type to be uncertain, so for him to express his fears of losing hit home. It was with a moment of clarity that he realised what was going through his friend's mind.

"Because if we got together afterward, it'd be like we were just being sad with each other, and not an actual relationship. Are you that unsure of yourself? You have to have had some training while you were gone, considering that punch. Nice hit, by the way."

"Thanks, and you've improved too, that hit almost hurt. And yeah, while I'm a ton stronger from when I've left, Brain Drain is on a whole other level from anything else. He's almost strong enough to rival the Skullgirl herself. What's worse, though, is that he's as smart as he is strong, so outsmarting him is almost impossible." Leduc grabbed Ragnorok at this statement, knowing that he would need consoling.

"Well then, don't worry about that for now, and instead focus on the task at hand. In this case, let's figure out how to best restrain Painwheel to avoid repeating your arrival." Ragnorok could only grin at this, remembering that day well.

"OK, so here's what we need to do: I'm going to try to talk to and restrain her mentally, but we both know she's going to inevitably break the bonds on her bed, so I need you to use your strength and electricity to hold her in place. If we work together, we may just be able to avoid too much damage."

"Sounds good, though why am I the only one holding her down?"

"Because the only way for me to use enough psychic power to hold her back and talk to her will limit my body's movement as a side effect. Put simply, I can't move on my own when using that much power, and switching over to Fenrir restricts my powers too much to do it either. There is a third option, but I need to hold off on using it when Valentine gets here."

"What is it?" Leduc was curious, as he thought he had seen both Ragnorok's and Fenrir's abilities to their fullest, so the idea of a third option confused him. Ragnorok smiled for a moment, then gave his reply:

"Lets just say that in those years, I found who I really am. But more on that later. Look!" he said, pointing, as it was now clear that Painwheel was fully awake, and was now proceeding to look around, unfamiliar with her surroundings. After a moment, she realized she was being restrained, and she reacted as most people would in that situation.

"OK, we have at most two minutes before those restraints break, so let's get started." Said Ragnorok, pulling out six nails, shifting back into his fighting form.

"Woah! Sixty from the get go? Isn't that a little high?"

"Its fine, Leduc. I can maintain full control as long as I keep under Eighty percent, but sixty should be more than enough to just communicate and/or stall her long enough to hold her down are restrain her. Speaking of..." Ragnorok said, noting that Painwhell had about escaped her bonds in only thirty seconds. "Huh... looks like you guys actually did improve the bonds. Maybe next time we'll hit a full minute. But enough of that, you ready?" Looking over at Leduc, he saw his answer, as all along his arms and legs were streaming electricity.

"Ready. we start the second she moves." Right on cue, Painwheel jumped right out of her bed, only to quickly be grabbed in a bear hug by Leduc, while using his foot to hold down the Buer Drive. While this was going on, Ragnorok had entered the mind of Carol, finding the person deep within her damaged subconscious.

_Carol, are you awake in here?_

_What, who's that? _Carol was confused, as this person sounded far too different from Aiden to be recognizable.

_Shoot, forgot that I sound different when I'm like this. I'm the person who helped you before, remember? _It took a moment for her to remember, and while this was going on, Painwheel had used a Gae Bolg from her hand to whack Leduc hard on his legs, which would normally have sliced clean through the leg. Instead, it banged hard on the metal, and knocked the two away from each other.

"That was close. That'd have destroyed a normal person's thing the Taranis is harder than steel." And with that, Leduc leapt at Painwheel while she was still on the ground, and used their combined body weight to hold her down. unfortunately, he was unable to get the Buer Drive, and it was about to take a slice at him until Hive noticed, and turned one of her arms into the Bezzle Bomb, and sent several mechanical bees out to catch and lodged the Buer Drive into the floor.

"Claws off, Painwheel. You okay, Leduc."

"Oh fine, besides the fact this girl is shockingly strong for someone so lean." He said, clearly having trouble, as Painwheel was writhing underneath him, struggling to get Leduc off in spite of the fact his position and Hive's bees prevented her from using either of her parasites.

**Meanwhile, in Carol's Subconscious...**

_What's going on?_

_Unfortunately, your body is quite good at relying on instincts alone. Some friends and I are trying to stop you from destroying anything, though that's a little easier said than done. If your willing to trust me, I may be able to help you. _This confused Carol, who was still getting used to all the oddity that comes with mental powers.

_How am I supposed to do that? _

_You know how you were able to talk to Filia before in town? We should be able to repeat that, only this time you'll take full control of your body._

_But how? I had no idea what I was doing then. _Ragnorok waited a moment, trying to figure out how to most easily explain what took him almost a year to figure out on his own.

_Can you remember what you were feeling at the time?_ Carol thought for a moment, trying to remember what specifically she was feeling then.

_I wanted to protect and warn Filia, no matter what. She's my best friend, and I could never bring myself to hurt her._

_That's perfect. It was a strong feeling you wanted more than anything else. Now, what I want you to do is think with all your heart "I want my body back."_

_Will that really work? It was all I could do just to get a few sentences out, and I lost control right after that._ She swore she could hear a laugh, and then had the oddest warmth surround her, with a feeling reminiscent of a gentle flame, warm and all-encompassing.

_I'll support you with my own mental power. All you need to do is focus your thoughts, and it should work._

_What does "should work" mean?_

_It means that, under the worst case scenario, this is going to end up damaging our minds. Normally a big deal, but our minds are both fairly damaged in the first place, so I doubt it'd make that much of a difference. Besides, I have total faith in your abilities_

_Oh, is that all to worry about? I'm so relieved that the worst that will happen is becoming even more insane. _Anyone could have noticed how layered with sarcasm the last words were.

_Look, I'm sorry, and I wish I could explain everything to you in full detail now, but once your body is under control, we can talk this out, and I promise I will tell you everything you want to know. _

_Okay, I'll try._ And with that, Carol focused entirely on the desire to take full control of her body back. As this happened, the energy that surrounded her went inside her now, filling her with that gentle warmth, making her feeling more focused than normal. After a moment, she felt as if she were sinking into the ground beneath her, but she did not panic, as it felt more like diving in a pool, and was fully her own choice. As time went on, she began to feel things physically, something she hadn't felt in years. Eventually, all she could she was darkness, but the physical feelings were full now...

**Back in the physical world...**

"What the heck?" Leduc was confused. Painwheel, who until recently had done nothing but writhe underneath him, had now gone completely still.

You can get off her now, Leduc. She should be fine now." said Ragnorok, who was starting to move for the first time since he first entered her mind. He was actually sweating a fair bit, and proceeded to look around the room, which had copious amount of damaged, including now 4 indentations in the walls, one on each side; dozens of slashes from the Buer Drive and Gae Bolga in both the ceiling and floor, and an actual hole in one wall caused by Hive's bees restraining the Beur Drive. The only part of the room that was still mostly clean was the bed area, where it was clear that Leduc and Hive were acting as bodyguards for Filia, who was still healing from her previous encounter with Painwheel, and she and a now fully conscious Samson had only watched in awe.

"Huh, not bad. We actually kept the majority of the damage contained into just this one room. Nice job Leduc, and you too Hive. This would have been impossible without help." Ragnorok said all this while holding a hand out for Leduc to get up, which he gladly took. It was right at this moment that came in the door. He took a quick look around and, rather than freak out, he just sighed.

"And I was so hopeful that the new restraints would actually keep someone down this time around. How long did they hold?"

"About 30 seconds, Dr. Avian," Said Ragnorok, grinning, "so at the very least, things are improving." Again, Avian merely sighed.

"And what of the girl now? How is she?" Hive and Leduc bothed shared a blank expression, unsure of how to answer. Ragnorok, however, kept his grin, as he responded

"Ask her yourself." While saying this, he held his and out towards Painwheel, who after a moment of stillness, suddenly grasped his hand. "How are you doing, Carol?" Again, there was a moment of stillness, mixed in with heavy breathing from Carol, but she spoke, using Painwheel's throaty voice.

"My body... I'm moving it." This confused most of the people in the room, but Avian and Ragnorok both understood the meaning of her words. "Its like moving through water... but for the first time in a long time, I'm controlling my body. Yeah!" Carol said, extending her arms wide, and on accident ended up shooting a Gae Bolga Stinger from her right hand, though Ragnorok switched over to Fenrir, who caught the stinger mid-air with no apparent effort, and what little damage it dealt healed quickly. Just as quickly, Ragnorok took control back.

"A little rough around the edges, but now your on the way to taking full control of your body back. Excellent, especially this quickly." Now that there was nothing more to worry about as far as Painwheel/Carol was concerned, Ragnorok looked around the room, now addressing the group. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, now that Dr. Avian is back, I suppose that means all the defenses are up, so without further ado, we can unmask some of the mysteries in this room, including my past, Filia's amnesia, and what all this has to do with Brain Drain and the Skull Heart." This got a mixed reaction from the crowd, with Leduc and Hive's excitement, Avian and Filia's curiosity, Carol's hopefulness, but oddest of all, concern from Samson. "And if we all sit in a circle, I know the best and fastest way to get all this information out."

So, without being sure what he was thinking, the group got in a circle, Hive and Leduc at either of Filia's sides, Leduc and Ragnorok between Avian, and Hive and Ragnorok positioning themselves between Painwheel.

"Ok, now everyone hold hands." Leduc and Hive gave a silent thanks that they were not right next to each other, and everyone grabbed each other's hands, with Leduc and Ragnorok taking care to avoid hurting the old doctor's hands.

"So how is this going to work?" asked Samson, "Are we going to play Truth or Dare?" this left an awkward moment of silence, as no one could find a reasonable response. After that, Ragnorok just took a deep breath before responding.

"Just relax and let my powers handle the rest." And without another word, Ragnorok released his mental energy to the others, giving that warm feeling back to Carol, but for the others it was a new feeling. They had little time to dwell on that, However, as without warning, all of them lost consciousness, still holding hands. Ragnorok alone was still upright, but he was still out like the rest of them.

_Now its time to find answers in the place where no one can truly lie: The Mind._

**And ending this chapter here. Sorry, but if I let this play out all at once, this chapter would be over 8000 words, so instead I'm splitting this into 2 chapters. Plus side, this means that Chapter 9 will be out sooner rather than later. Also, heading to college soon, but I will let you know how, if at all, that will affect future chapters. I will still write, but long times between updates may occur more often. As always, read and review, and have a nice day.**


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